Eric Schmidt is an American technology executive, former software engineer, and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Google Inc. Schmidt served as Google’s CEO for a decade from 2001 to 2011 and then as the executive chairman for the next four years, till 2015.
After leaving Google, Eric Schmidt joined Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. There, he worked as the executive chairman from 2015 to 2017 and then as Technical Advisor from 2017 to 2020.
He previously worked as Novell’s CEO and Sun Microsystems’ CTO. Eric Schmidt also co-founded Innovation Endeavors, a venture financing firm that has backed Uber, SoFi, and Zymergen, among others.
At present, Eric Schmidt serves as the chair of The Broad Institute and hosts a podcast where he explores how society can shape a more positive future in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schmidt has also written several books on tech.
This article will look into Eric Schmidt’s net worth, education, career, and more.
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Eric Schmidt Net Worth
As of 2024, Eric Schmidt’s net worth stands at $22.9 billion. At the time of this writing, he is among the 100 wealthiest people in the world.
The majority of Schmidt’s billion-dollar net worth comes from his stake in Alphabet Inc. Also, he owns a 20% stake in hedge fund firm D.E. Shaw & Co.
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Education
Eric Schmidt graduated from Yorktown High School in 1972, excelling in long-distance running, and earning eight varsity letters.
He then attended Princeton University. He initially studied architecture but later switched to electrical engineering. Schmidt completed his Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1976.
Afterward, Schmidt moved to Berkeley, where he lived at the International House from 1976 to 1980. In 1979, he earned a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.
His project involved creating a network called Berknet that connected various departments. He went on to earn a PhD in 1982, focusing on distributed software development and tools to address related challenges.
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Career
Eric Schmidt began his career in the technology industry with a series of technical positions at Byzromotti Design, Bell Labs, Zilog, and Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). During his time at Bell Labs, he and Mike Lesk developed Lex, a program used in compiler construction to generate lexical analyzers from regular-expression descriptions.
In 1983, Schmidt joined Sun Microsystems as the first software manager. He eventually rose through the ranks, becoming director of software engineering, vice president and general manager of the software products division, vice president of the general systems group, and president of Sun Technology Enterprises.
In 1997, Schmidt became CEO and chairman of Novell. During his tenure, Novell’s proprietary IPX protocol was increasingly replaced by open TCP/IP products. Schmidt left Novell in 2001 after the acquisition of Cambridge Technology Partners.
In 2001, Schmidt was recruited by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to become Google’s CEO under the guidance of venture capitalists John Doerr and Michael Moritz. He joined the board of directors in March 2001 and became CEO in August. At Google, Schmidt shared day-to-day operational responsibilities with Page and Brin, overseeing the corporate infrastructure and maintaining product development cycles.
In 2007, PC World ranked Schmidt as one of the most important people on the web, alongside Page and Brin. In 2011, Schmidt stepped down as Google’s CEO. Then, he transitioned to the role of executive chairman while Larry Page took over as CEO. Schmidt received a $100 million equity award as part of this transition. He remained in this role until 2017 when he announced he would step down as executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
In 2020, Schmidt officially left his role as a technical advisor to Alphabet after 19 years with the company.
Four years prior, Schmidt was appointed to chair the Department of Defense’s newly created Defense Innovation Advisory Board, which connected technology leaders with Pentagon officials. He also co-chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence from 2019 to 2021, providing policy recommendations related to AI development. During his time with the Department of Defense, Schmidt ensured there was no conflict of interest with his role at Alphabet, as Google was bidding for major contracts with the department.
Schmidt’s involvement in the High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation came to light during his time at Google. Schmidt had participated in non-recruiting agreements with companies such as Apple, which led to a settlement of $415 million paid by several tech companies, including Google. An email Schmidt sent, instructing Google’s HR department to halt recruiting from Apple at Steve Jobs’ request, became a key piece of evidence in the case.
In addition to his work in the tech industry, Schmidt served on the boards of Apple, Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University, and the Broad Institute. He was also involved with various venture capital investments, co-founding Innovation Endeavors in 2010, which invested in companies like Uber, Quixey, and BillGuard. In 2020, Schmidt began working on creating a tech college for educating future cybersecurity experts and scientists. That same year, he launched a podcast, Reimagine with Eric Schmidt, and later joined Chainlink Labs as a strategic advisor.
At present, he serves as the chairman of the board of directors at Broad Institute.
Latest Updates
Eric Schmidt has been actively involved in multiple high-profile ventures, particularly in AI, startups, and investments.
In August 2024, Schmidt invested in Magic, an AI startup that creates models for code generation and automates various software development tasks. Magic raised $320 million in a funding round that included Schmidt, Alphabet’s CapitalG, Atlassian, and other notable investors.
Besides Magic, Eric Schmidt also invested in Augment, another AI coding startup.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Eric Schmidt famous for?
Eric Schmidt is a famous technology exec and billionaire,. He is known for being the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Google Inc.
How did Eric Schmidt make his billions?
The majority of Eric Schmidt’s billion-dollar net worth comes from his stake in Alphabet, Google’s parent company. It is the dominant search engine worldwide.
What does Eric Schmidt do now?
Eric Schmidt currently serves as the Chairman of the Board at The Broad Institute and hosts a podcast called “Reimagine with Eric Schmidt.”
